Providing Advanced Pipeline Services

Dyna Torque Technologies
Written by Leon Bracey

A need to modernize and update pipe beveling equipment was the impetus behind the launch of Dyna Torque Technologies, Inc in 1998. Since the company was founded, Dyna Torque has continued to provide the pipeline industry with the most efficient and trouble free equipment available thanks to continuous research and development, competitive pricing and outstanding customer service.
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Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Dyna Torque has grown and expanded throughout the world to include offices in Brazil, Holland, Indonesia, Australia and recently Alberta, Canada.

“At the time, the pipeline welding industry was lacking in advanced mechanized welding solutions,” explains President Andrew Scherfenberg.

Dyna Torque Technologies offers automated welding solutions and related pipeline equipment for the global onshore and offshore oil and gas, fabrication and petrochemical industries. The company has grown to become an international full-service welding firm that plans, manages and delivers fully integrated welding solutions in the most demanding environments and extreme conditions around the world.

Over the years, the company has built a well-earned reputation for quality, productivity and innovation in the pipeline industry. Dyna Torque’s vision is to provide full-service welding solutions to contractors and end users by bringing together the latest in available technology and making it available to the welding industry at competitive prices.

Dyna Torque can provide equipment, personnel and expertise for all its customers’ pipe welding projects. The company provides professional assistance and expertise for solving welding problems with highly trained personnel and quality equipment, ensuring satisfactory production results, as its website explains. Dyna Torque works with its customers from start to finish, fulfilling the requirements needed to successfully complete pipe welding projects. Welding services by Dyna Torque include welding procedure development and qualification, welder training and qualification and welding project planning, management and execution.

In the field of Welder Training and Qualifications, Dyna Torque offers professional assistance and expertise for solving welding problems with highly trained personnel and quality equipment. At its facility in Houston, the company offers welder training and qualification service for procedure development and qualification, and also offers these services on project sites, depending on the needs of the client. The company’s automated welding systems help to reduce training times and costs for clients.

For Procedure Development and Qualifications, procedures are developed, tested and qualified at company headquarters. If needed, welding parameters can then be transferred electronically anywhere in the world.

In the year 2000 Dyna Torque introduced the LoneStar Automatic Welding System to the market. The LoneStar is an advanced orbital automated pipe welding system designed to modernize traditional welding techniques and processes by integrating the latest in software development and microprocessor technologies combined with innovative device design to offer a compelling digital welding solution. The system was developed by Dyna Torque inventors Dejan Medanic and Mike Farrell.

These kinds of innovations are critical pieces of the puzzle because, as Scherfenberg explains, “When you’re welding manually, there is a welder fatigue factor to manage, inconsistencies from welder to welder in the ability to maintain welding values within the qualified procedures. In general terms, there’s repositioning, and there’s reduced mobility when welding by hand so there are greater chances for error. The LoneStar system provides advantages from reduced repair rates to increased productivity, leading to a savings in manpower, one of the largest contributors to cost on any project.”

Additional services offered by the company related to the offshore industry include Steel Catenary Risers, Jumpers, PLETS, PLEMS, spool pieces, double jointing, and spoolbase production to name a few.

“The pipeline welding industry is in high demand for increased quality and consistency in welding,” Scherfenberg says. “The majority of the pipeline construction industry still utilizes manual stick electrode welding with downhill cellulosic electrodes. With higher standards and specifications being mandated by the oil and gas industries it is a matter of time where downhill cellulosic welding processes will become a thing of the past.”

As Dyna Torque’s website explains, the LoneStar welding system provides pipeline constructors with several advantages over traditional welding processes, such as increased consistency and weld quality through verifiable repeatability; microprocessor control of all welding parameters, reducing weld repairs and labor costs; virtually eliminating the risk of human error in equipment operation; reduced dependency on experienced operators, eliminating interference with procedural welding parameters. The LoneStar Automated Welding System also has the capacity to collect and make available the actual welding values used on each weld if so desired.

With increasing demand industry-wide for higher quality at lower costs, having in-depth, specific, and highly detailed production data has become extremely important for companies. To this end, the LoneStar automatic orbital welding system provides much needed real-time information, enabling efficient management and the assurance that the welding procedures are followed. As a result, project managers can analyze raw production data in an unbiased environment, unfiltered by welders on the line. Additionally, user-defined access to production information enables managers to conduct comparative analyses of quality and throughput benchmarks, as well as maintain a tighter hold on costs via inventory and machine utilization assessments.

As most markets around the world have already switched over to low hydrogen welding solutions, Canada and the United States are in the process of migrating away from cellulosic consumables, and the LoneStar system is well positioned to assist end users in making this transition.

“Currently the pipe welding workforce is aging and while new welding processes are being implemented and demanded by the oil and gas companies, there is a skill level and labor shortage in the marketplace,” Mr. Scherfenberg shares. “With our system, we can bridge the gap that allows the transition to low hydrogen welding as well as provide a complete low hydrogen welding solution for gas companies to consider and adopt.”

Dyna Torque has recently made inroads into the Canadian market. With Canadian gas companies demanding improved welding methods for both current and future projects, Dyna Torque has implemented its LoneStar welding system for uphill welding methods on spools, transition pipes and mainline pipeline sections. The solutions offered by Dyna Torque meet or exceed the country’s industry specifications.

“Additional benefits are that repeatability and consistency are maintained while reducing the possibility for repairs and reducing man hours to complete the scope of work,” explains Scherfenberg.

Dyna Torque is currently providing automated welding solutions for the Cenovus project at Christina Lake in the Province of Alberta. As a leading oil sands site in Alberta, Dyna Torque is part of this project by providing quality welding services.

Like many companies, Dyna Torque Technologies has faced its share of challenges. As the business has grown and branched out into new market segments, making a name for itself and wisely managing growth have been two areas on which the company has been focusing. “Our strategy is to manage growth at a level where customer support and service are not compromised,” Scherfenberg says. “This will be the most challenging aspect to overcome. The technology Dyna Torque offers has been proven over the last 17 years, and we have also been continually improving our products and solutions to meet market demand.”

Dyna Torque also works with a number of key partners to bring projects to completion. “We rely on selected vendor relations to assist on many aspects,” says Scherfenberg. “Our alignment with vendors that have extensive resources worldwide has given us an advantage when these types of resources are required. This seems to be the case more and more, as welding consumables and power supply technology continue to advance.”

According to Scherfenberg, clients are particularly interested in past performance of the technology and how it may apply to their current welding requirement. “These benefits primarily center on labor and arc time reductions, giving the customer a financial advantage,” he says. “This is important in today’s market where most costs are increasing while revenue margins are not.”

As the company grows, Dyna Torque Technologies is actively expanding its presence in the marketplace. Future plans involve continuing to offer a cost effective welding solution and highly skilled personnel.

To be sure, for the past 17 years, Dyna Torque Technologies has provided high tech welding solutions for the oil and gas industry and has used this knowledge to improve its ability to continually develop and improve its products and services in the marketplace. As Mr. Scherfenberg says, “If welding of pipe is in your scope of work for fabrication to cross country pipeline, please give Dyna Torque Technologies consideration and take a look at our technology for your welding needs.”

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